Thursday, July 12, 2012

Weekly SUMMER SNIPPETS for July 15, 2012: Putting the Presence into Practice


Summer Snippets: Putting the Presence into Practice


The old saying, “You can’t give what you don’t have” applies equally as well with things in the realm of the spirit, the important intangibles like love, affection, faithfulness, and presence. And when you do have them and are able to give them, what a difference they make in our lives!
I have been talking in this weekly column about contemplative prayer or sitting-in-silence and experiencing God’s presence. A way to do this is to sit in a straight-backed chair with feet on the floor and simply breathe in and out slowly at your own pace. Once you have quieted yourself having breathed in and out five or six times, read a short passage from scripture two times slowly, letting the words sink in. After the second time, take a phrase of 3 or 4 words that shimmer for you, words that stand out as having some special meaning at this moment. Synchronize the 3-4 words to your breathing in and out. When you no longer need the words or awareness of the breathing, simply place yourself in God’s arms and relax. Rest there relishing and savoring the presence. Whenever you are distracted or begin thinking, return to the words in sync with the breathing. The goal is to remain simply aware and delighting in God’s presence. In this state there are no prayer requests, no listening to God’s response. It is pure and simply the state of being before the Beloved. It’s like resting in the eyes and the smile of someone you love dearly and knowing they love you. Remain in that presence for five or ten minutes. You’ll find the time flies by.
When you come out of the presence and back into the present, it is important to ask two questions: What was the experience like and how can what I experienced make a different with a particular person or situation I shall encounter today? This minute or two of reflection is very important, because now it’s fine to think and deliberate. As you look back on the experience of presence you may say, “It was a profound peacefulness I felt” or “My phrase was I will love you always” or “I felt like Jesus was drawing me to himself and holding me close.” Everyone’s experience will be different and unique. But only half the job has been accomplished. The second question is how can my experience make a difference for someone I will encounter today or regarding a situation in which I will find myself. So the profound peacefulness I felt I might share with someone who is a bit upset or rattled by something in their life that happened. My phrase from Jesus, “I will love you always” may have humbled me a bit and now I’m willing to forgive someone who’s wronged me and has never even apologized. I will have the grace to do that to the degree the words of Jesus touched me in the depth of my soul. Or finally, my feeling of being drawn to Jesus and being held close will give me a clear and powerful ability to do that for someone I will be meeting today with whom I may find that difficult to do.
We know all too well from the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountaintop before Peter, James and John that their seeing him in glory was not just for themselves. It was to bond them to him and to strengthen them in their love and service to others. That is why Jesus ignored Peter’s blustery statement about building three tents one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He wanted the wonderful moment of presence to the Lord in glory to continue. Jesus on the other hand said the presence was to strengthen them and they must come down off the mountaintop and get back among the people changed by what they’d seen and prepared to be different with others because of it.
The same is true of our presence to God in contemplation. What happened and how will it make a difference are key points of reflection. What I find helpful is to jot both statements down in a small spiral bound; they’re easy to write in. Don’t spend lots of time on this, rather write one sentence describing the experience and a second stating how it will be used in a concrete situation. My guess is that as you collect these statements over the course of a month and read them over after a while, you’ll begin to see how contemplative presence is making a difference in your life. It will clearly be a case of prayer with muscle, prayer that is transforming and transforming not only you but others in your life.

Fondly,
Father Nicholas
P.S.      To get past copies of weekly Summer Snippets or Sunday homilies simply type “FaceBook Father Nicholas Amato” to get to FaceBook or Blogspot. There are posted both the weekly Summer Snippet and the homily I’ll be delivering that coming Sunday.

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